Charles Sprague
Charles Sprague (October 26, 1791 - January 22, 1875) was an early American poet. He worked for 45 years for the State and Globe Banks, and was often referred to as the "Banker Poet of Boston". Life Overview Sprague, born at Boston, had some reputation as a writer of prize poems, odes, and domestic poems. To the former class belong Curiosity and Shakespeare Ode, and to the latter, The Family Meeting and "I see Thee Still," an elegy on his sister.John William Cousin, "Sprague, Charles," A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature. London: Dent / New York: Dutton, 1910, 355. Wikisource, Web, Mar. 4, 2018. Youth Sprague was born in Boston on October 26, 1791. He was a descendant of some of America's founding fathers, including his father, Samuel Sprague (participant in the Boston Tea Party and Revolutionary War), Richard Warren (Mayflower passenger) and the Reverend Peter Hobart and William Sprague of Hingham. He received a common-school education, beginning at age 10 at the Franklin School in Boston. He was taught by Dr. Asa Bullard and Mr. Lemuel Shaw who later became Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. He lost the use of his left eye by an accident at age 10.Wilson, James Grant; Fiske, John, eds. "Sprague, Charles". Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. New York: D. Appleton, 1900. Career His formal education ended at 13 when he was apprenticed to a dry goods merchant, Messrs Thayer and Hunt. Here he gained his first practical knowledge of business. Later he formed a co-partnership with William B. Collander in the grocery business. He married Elizabeth (Rand) in 1814 and had 4 children, two dying in childhood. His children, Charles James Sprague (who became Curator of botany at the Boston Society of Natural History) and Mary Anna Sprague both married and had children. In 1819 be began working for the State Bank as a teller, and when the Globe Bank was established in 1824 was employed there as a cashier. He remained there, becoming an officer in the institution, until 1865 and was often referred to as the "Banker Poet" of Boston. Literary career His first recognition for poetry came when he won a prize for the best prologue at the opening of the Park Theater in New York City. His first printed efforts were published in the Centennial, Boston Gazette, and The Evening Gazette as early as 1811. Upon the occasion of the triumphal entry of Lafayette into Boston, in 1824, he wrote the inscription for an arch that hung over the streets of Boston. Many of Charles Sprague’s poems were delivered at public festivities — major, historical Boston events — including Curiosity, delivered at the Phi Beta Kappa Society of Harvard University in 1829. This is his longest and most elaborate work. "Shakespeare Ode" was delivered at a Boston theatre in a pageant in honor of Shakespeare, in 1823; "Ode" was pronounced at the Centennial Celebration of the Settlement of Boston of 1830; "Triennial Ode" at the Massachusetts Charitable Assoc. 1818; "Fifty Years Ago" at the Fourth of July Celebration, and "Song" at a festival in Faneuil Hall. His odes and prologues won several competitive prizes, and were collected and published in 1841 as The Writings of Charles Sprague. Last years Sprague resigned his bank position aged 73 when, growing infirm with age, he didn't want to undertake the labors of a new regime of banking under national laws. He enjoyed the comforts of home life, surrounded by his books, until January 22, 1875, when after a short illness he died at 84. Recognition In the Salem Observer, August 29, 1829, it is noted that at the commencement at Harvard an honorary degree of Master of Arts was given to Mr. Charles Sprague, the poet. It goes on to state, "We are glad that the distributors of the literary honors of old Harvard are so discriminating in the selection of the candidates for their favors". This was quite an accomplishment as his formal education had ended at 13 and he was the epitome of a 'self-made' man. Publications *''The Prize Ode: Recited at the representation of the Shakspeare Jubilee, Boston, Feb. 13, 1824'' (pamphlet). 1824. *''Curiosity: A poem, delivered at Cambridge, before the Phi Beta Kappa Society, August 27, 1829. Boston: J.T. Buckingham, 1829. *An Ode Pronounced before the Inhabitants of Boston, September the seventeenth, 1830. Boston: John H. Eastburn, 1830. Non-fiction *''An Oration, Delivered on Monday, Fourth of July, 1825. Boston: True & Greene, 1825; Cincinnati, OH: John H. Wood, 1825; Boston: John H. Eastburn, 1831. *''An Address Delivered before the Massachusetts Society for the Suppression of Intemperance, May 31, 1827''. Boston : Bowles & Dearborn, 1827. Collected editions *''Writings: Now first collected''. New York: Charles S. Francis, 1841. *''Poetical and Prose Writings''. Boston: Ticknor, Reed, & Fields, 1850. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:Charles Sprague, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Dec. 1, 2016. See also *List of U.S. poets References External links ;Books * ;About *Sprague, Charles" in Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography * Category:American male poets Category:Writers from Boston Category:1791 births Category:1875 deaths Category:American businesspeople Category:Burials in Boston Category:19th-century American poets Category:19th-century male writers Category:19th-century poets Category:American poets Category:English-language poets Category:Poets